SLIDE ON IN: Injuries have made Jayson Nix a regular in the Yankees’ lineup, a scenario familiar to former Yankee Randy Velarde. Photo: Getty Images

SLIDE ON IN: Injuries have made Jayson Nix a regular in the Yankees’ lineup, a scenario familiar to former Yankee Randy Velarde (inset). (
)

Jayson Nix first made a name for himself with the Yankees almost immediately after being recalled from Triple-A Scranton in early May.

It was Nix’s batting practice fly ball Mariano Rivera was chasing when the closer crumpled to the ground on the warning track at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City — tearing his ACL, lost for the season.

Though Nix simply could have remained the answer to a trivia question no Yankees fan wanted to answer, he has taken advantage of injuries to Alex Rodriguez and, more recently, Mark Teixeira to become more than that, at least for the time being, as the Yankees begin a series with the Mariners tonight in The Bronx.

“I knew there were a lot of circumstances that had to happen for me to get on the field much,” said Nix, who had three hits in the Yankees’ 12-3 win over the Orioles on Wednesday — his third three-hit game of the season. “I knew there were good players here, and there weren’t a whole lot of spots, so it might not happen. But there was a role here that needed to be filled.”

It’s a similar role to one Randy Velarde once had in The Bronx, and the former Yankee — and fellow Midland, Texas, resident — played a role in getting Nix to his old team.

“He knows the history of the team and how special it was to me,” Velarde said by phone. “Now he’s getting to the point in his career where he can pick and choose. He didn’t hesitate when the opportunity came up with the Yankees.”

Velarde, an infielder who played in The Bronx from 1987-95 and made a brief return in 2001, first met Nix at the end of his major league career, just as Nix and his brother Laynce were getting drafted.

“We worked together and they picked my brain about pro baseball,” said Velarde, who knew once Eduardo Nunez went down to the minors that Nix had a chance to find his niche with the Yankees.

“With future Hall of Famers like Alex and Derek [Jeter] in front of him, you could question whether it was the right fit, but when Nunez was gone, I told him it was his time,” Velarde said. “Guys like him you don’t really appreciate until someone goes down. You have to rely on your frontline guys, but you’ve got to be ready with players like Jayson.”

The 29-year-old Nix is hitting .260 with four homers and 13 RBIs. He has nine starts at shortstop and left field, six at third base and four at second and was on the Yankees’ radar in part because of assistant GM Billy Eppler’s connections with the Rockies, where Nix began his career.

“They don’t get the credit they deserve,” said Velarde. “When you can play the whole infield and even the outfield, that’s invaluable.”

Nix’s next challenge will be staying on the field after the arrival of Casey McGehee, who also is a right-handed bat and can play both corner infield positions. The ex-Pirate went 0-for-2 with two walks, two runs, a sacrifice fly and a pair of double play groundouts in his Yankees debut. He also played a serviceable first base.

“Some people can’t handle that kind of situation or playing in New York,” Velarde said. “Jayson is the kind of kid who loves to work and a blue-collar type that New York fans love.”